| CODE | BIO2030 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Animal Form and Function 1 | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Biology | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit reviews adaptations in morphology and physiology that have been evolved by invertebrates and vertebrates to enable them to interact with their environment. The following aspects will be covered through a series of lectures and practical sessions: 1. Animal size and scaling: constraints imposed by scaling in relation to the morphology and physiology of animals; isometric and allometric scaling. 2. Biomechanics: physical basis for understanding life designs; aspects of biomechanics for terrestrial (support and movement) and aquatic (support, movement, effect of pressure and surface tension) animals. 3. Neurophysiology: membrane excitation; propagation of excitation phenomena within and between neurons; neuromodulation. 4. Nervous systems and nervous integration: functional organisation of nervous systems; comparative review of nervous systems in invertebrates and vertebrates; neural organisation of vertebrate brains. 5. Receptor physiology: general characteristics; chemoreception, mechanoreception, thermoreception, photoreception, electroreception in a variety of animals. 6. Muscles and other effectors: amoeboid, ciliary and flagellar movement; contractile systems in muscle cells; mechanical and electrical properties of muscles; other effector organs (electrical discharge, bioluminescence and colour changes). 7. Locomotion: adaptations of form and function for aquatic, terrestrial and aerial locomotion. Study-unit Aims: The main aims of this unit are to identify basic and comparative aspects of morphological and functional strategies, using physiological and biomechanical approaches. The evolutionary significance of the relationship between form and function in animals and their environment will be emphasised throughout the study-unit. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Describe the implications of scaling in biological systems, including at the organism level; • Relate changes in animal anatomy or morphology to variation in biomechanical functioning; • Identify various structures forming part of the musculo-skeletal and nervous systems at the cellular, tissue and organ levels; • Explain the functioning of the nervous system, sensory receptors and muscles; • Discuss variation in form and function related to aquatic, terrestrial and aerial locomotion. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: • Perform a dissection to observe the internal organs of an animal; • Apply the concepts learned during lectures to interpret physiological datasets; • Relate an animal’s adaptations to its environment based on observation of gross morphological and anatomical features; • Recognize differences in functioning through comparison of sensory and locomotory structures between different animals. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main text: • Moyes, C.D., & Schulte, P.M. (2021). Principles of animal physiology (3rd ed.). Pearson Education. Supplementary readings: • Hill, R.W., Cavanaugh, D.J., Anderson, M. (2021). Animal physiology (5th ed.). Oxford University Press. • Kardong, K.V. (2019). Vertebrates: Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution (8th ed.). Mc Graw-Hill International. • Vogel, S. (2013). Comparative Biomechanics: Life's Physical World (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. Other texts and readings may be indicated throughout the duration of the course. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite: B.Sc. (Hons) 1st Year Study-Units or equivalent Students are to note that they will be allowed to sit for this study-unit examination and will be awarded a grade only if they have regularly attended lectures and practical classes, if they have submitted any assignments, including practical reports and if they satisfy all other study-unit requirements. Please note that a pass in the Practical component is obligatory for an overall pass mark to be awarded. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Practical | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Julian Evans (Co-ord.) |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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